Mileage allowances and daily rates – sounds dry, doesn’t it? But honestly, anyone who has ever traveled on business knows how important these little helpers are. They make travel expense accounting clear, fair and stress-free. And honestly, who wants to have to deal with receipts after a long business trip? Clear rules, simple processes – this way, accounting remains relaxed.
Mileage rates for business travel
Without fixed guidelines for mileage allowances and daily rates, there is chaos. Imagine a company with no guidelines. Everyone calculates as they please: one person states €0.35 per kilometer, the other only €0.25. The boss looks boggled, the accounting department sweats, and in the end, no one is happy.
With fixed flat rates – for example €0.30 per kilometer – there are no more discussions. Everything runs uniformly, and the employees know where they stand. This saves time, nerves, and ensures fewer misunderstandings.
What are mileage rates and how do they work?
The mileage allowance is something like a joker for everyone who uses their private car for business purposes. It regulates how much is reimbursed per kilometer driven.
• €0.30 per kilometer for cars
• €0.20 per kilometer for motorcycles.
• $0.70 cents per mile for self-employed and business.
• $0.14 cents per mile for charities.
• $0.21 cents per mile for medical and moving for military personnel.
The standard rate is up 3 cents from last year’s 67 cents for business-related mileage rates.
Example from everyday life
Lisa works in a small company near Austin, Texas. She regularly drives her own car or vehicles from various car rental companies with unlimited mileage to a customer in Johnson City- 50 miles one way, so 100 miles there and back. With the flat rate she gets $30 reimbursed. No paperwork, no stress. Lisa is happy, and so is the accounting department.
Daily rates for business trips
Daily rates are the secret weapon when it comes to meals and smaller expenses. They not only make billing quicker, but also more relaxed. Imagine you are at a conference in some small town. You eat a little something at lunchtime in the bistro, drink a coffee in the hotel in the evening and maybe pay for a parking ticket. Thanks to the daily rates, you don’t have to collect any receipts for this.
Two important categories
1. Accommodation
Whether it’s a hotel in Hamburg or a guesthouse in Wismar- the overnight costs are regulated at a flat rate.
2. Additional meal expenses
Meals, drinks and small expenses such as parking fees fall under this.
Typical examples of daily rates in companies
Example 1: Day trip to the countryside
Let’s take Tobi from a craft business near Frankfurt. He is driving to Hanover for a day to submit a quote for a customer. He is on the road for more than eight hours, so he is entitled to a 14 euro meal allowance. That is easily enough for a small snack on the way and a coffee – without the hassle of receipts.
Example 2: Multi-day trip to the big city
Maria, who works for a medium-sized company in Frankfurt, is driving to a trade fair in Berlin for three days. She stays in a hotel and mostly eats out. With a 28 euro meal allowance per day, she gets a total of 84 euros reimbursed. That covers her expenses and she doesn’t have to deal with receipts.
What will stay the same in 2025, what could change?
There are no surprises for Germany in 2025:
• Mileage allowance: €0.30 (car) / €0.20 (motorcycle)
• Meal allowance: €28 (for absences of more than 24 hours), €14 (from eight hours)
But different countries, different customs. In the USA, the IRS implements a $319 per diem high-low rate for any high-cost locality in the continental US and $225 low rate. For meal purposes, the high per diem rate is $86 and the $74 for travel to any other locality in the continental US. There is also a passenger bonus of $0.10 per mile to make carpooling more attractive. Germany has been rather cautious so far, but who knows what the future will bring.
But what if prices rise?
Especially in rural regions, where many employees travel long distances, fuel prices are a constant issue. This is why the IRS has implemented special daily allowance rates for high cost cities. Even if the flat rates remain unchanged in 2025, there could be adjustments in the long term. For example, companies could introduce bonuses for carpooling or promote alternative mobility solutions. This way everything remains fair and flexible.
How companies can use mileage and daily rates smartly
Here are a few ideas around using mileage and daily rates smartly:
1. Clear communication
Employees should know what the rules are. A short leaflet or an informative talk is often enough.
2. Modern tools
Digital solutions are worth their weight in gold. Use a travel and expense management tool like GetGoing: Employees can enter their journeys and expenses directly. The app calculates everything easily after your company inputs its daily allowance rates, mileage rates and other policies. No annoying back and forth, everything runs automatically.
Adding a mileage expense as a traveler with GetGoing
Tracking mileage expenses was never easier.
- Click “add expense” button
- Enter your start and end destination so that you can get reimbursed the right amount
- Confirm distance and mileage rate
- Fill in additional fields
- Click “save”
Adding a daily allowance rate as a travel manager or Admin with GetGoing
Daily allowance rates in GetGoing can be added and managed easily to keep reporting streamlined.
- Simply navigate to your expense policies page.
- Click on the daily allowance rate section where you can see existing rates and add new ones.
- Select “Add new rate” to create a new daily allowance rate
- Fill in required fields
- Save
- You can also import daily allowance rates in bulk.
3. Promote sustainability
Carpooling or using trains could be rewarded with small bonuses. This shows that the company is not only thinking about costs, but also about the environment.
Best practices for billing
To ensure that travel expense accounting runs smoothly, companies should pay attention to a few things:
• Uniform system: so that no claims are submitted indiscriminately.
• Regular updates: legal changes to mileage rates should be integrated in good time.
• Simplicity over bureaucracy: nobody wants to wade through endless rules.
Why travel policies are beneficial
A clear travel policy is essential – not only for tax compliance, but also for employee satisfaction. A comprehensive travel expense policy shows appreciation. Employees feel heard and know that their expenses will be reimbursed without any complications. Whether you work in the heart of Munich or in a small town – clear and simple rules make business trips stress-free. And in the end? You’re left with the feeling: “I’m being taken seriously.”
Don’t have a travel policy yet?
How to integrate mileage and daily rates into your travel expense guidelines
Correctly billing business trips is about more than just numbers. It’s about keeping employees motivated, optimizing processes and ultimately reducing costs. To ensure that this is possible without any problems, companies should regularly adapt clear travel policy guidelines. Be it to new legal requirements or rising fuel prices. Especially when it comes to international business trips, clear rules help to avoid unnecessary chaos and make billing convenient.
Transparency and digitization are not just buzzwords, they help to avoid misunderstandings, save time and minimize errors. Schedule a demo to get the right support you need to keep your travel costs under control forever and in a future-proof manner. Consult our experts to see how you can use software like GetGoing to manage travel reimbursements effectively in 2025.